


True tests never end.

by Saige



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Drabble, Dragon Age Inquisition, F/M, dai - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-03-02 21:26:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2826662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saige/pseuds/Saige
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cullen watches Rowan Trevelyan fight, and is surprised that a mage can hold her own in close combat without any magic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	True tests never end.

**Author's Note:**

> just another drabble, my trev Rowan didn't like Cullen at first because he's a templar. funny huh?

She was well muscled, for a mage. It showed on her arms – thick and strong, along with her thighs. Not nearly as thick as Cassandra’s, she had no warrior training to achieve that kind of muscle. But it was evident that she trained regularly to achieve the muscled leanness of her body. Cullen watched her with a curious eye, taking note on her stance and the way she held her staff. Clever woman, he thought as she dodged a blow from her opponent. She wasn’t using her magic at all- he could sense it, she was relying purely on her own skill and physical strength. She was, in fact, using her staff as a weapon itself, instead of simply a conduit for her magic. She dodged again, avoiding a wooden sword in the gut.

The man she was fighting had skill beyond a simple farmer, but no where near enough to be considered a skilful soldier. He thrust blindly and constantly forgot to raise his shield, Cullen counted that he’d already be dead ten times over if this was a real fight. The mage- Lady Rowan, he corrected himself, must have tired of their endless dance. She knocked the man off his feet with her staff and placed her booted foot on his chest, shoving the end of the staff against his throat.

"I believe I’ve bested you, Jim." She said. Cullen raised one of his eyebrows, she sounded almost happy- a stark change from her normal serious demeanour. "Yield."

“Alright, I yield! Maker’s breath, you’re skilled in close combat for a mage.” She smiled at that and released Jim, turning away from him. She was sweating and panting, her linen shirt clinging slightly to her chest. Her eyes made contact with his and he coughed violently,averting his eyes.

"It’s not polite to stare. Even if you were testing my skills." She remarked, standing behind him. He turned around, attempting to keep his expression neutral. So she knew he had been watching her the entire time, and that he had underestimated her severely.

"My apologies, I was merely.. interested in how a circle mage with no apparent training in close combat would fair in a fight without their magic."

“My, my. ‘Tis truly amazing how much you assume.” Light green eyes narrowed at him. “Not all mages are helpless without their magic. You of all people should know that, templar.” She was cross with him. She had been since the moment they had met, only now she was being vocal about it. Before it was strained smiles and fake gestures of politeness.

“Forgive me, I did not mean to offend.” He said sternly. What was her problem with him? Had he done something to offend her? He asked himself silently.

“I am not offended. Nor am I surprised.” She said coldly, he could almost feel the chill from her words. She turned away from him and began walking in the direction of Haven’s blacksmith, pausing only briefly to look back at him over her shoulder. “A word of advice; keep your wits about you, templar. As someone once told me – true tests never end.”


End file.
